First off, let it be known that this is not a book you'll want to read unless, a) you are a huge fan of Arthur C. Clarke, or b) you are interested in such subjects as underwaters archaeology, shipwrecks, sunken treasure, etc. This book chronicles an expedition to the Great Basses Reef off the coast of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in the early 1960's, of which Arthur C. Clarke was a member. As it turns out, they came upon a sunken treasure ship, and recovered it. It was the first one ever found in the Indian Ocean, and, indeed, one of the few period in the last century. Clarke's writing, as always, is entertaining and witty, and keeps you reading, as the story is actually quite exciting (and has the added novelty of being true.) However, it does get quite dry and bland at times, as when Clarke devotes entire pages to legal esoteria and extracts from other people's writings and speeches. Obviously, it is not one of his major books, but neither is it meant to be. As a documentary, it is quite great. It reveals a major side of Clarke that many people are probably not even aware of. It also has many autobiographical ancedotes that fans will enjoy (it talks of when Clarke first felt the symptoms of his polio, for instance.) Also, there are over 100 great photographs in this book, including 16 pages of color ones. In the end, you will read this book if you are an Arthur C. Clarke fan, or if you are inherently interested in its subject matter. Otherwise, pick up Childhood's End.

This book really got my attention because I was a hobbyist astronomer many year's back. It's a fascinating subject. Mr. Upgren intended to write a bunch of rambling essays on the subject, while teaching some basics at the same time. This would be in the manner of Arthur C. Clark and H.A. Rey (also of "Curious George" fame). It could have been a much better book if:

a) Mr. Upgren did not harp on the dark-skies issue in many of the chapters, and adding up to about 1/4 of the book. Granted, I think he's right about the uselessness of outdoor lighting wasting energy to the night sky. However, he goes way overboard on this, to great detriment of the book. It could have been in one epilogue chapter at the end.

b) the author explained what the turtles have to do with the rest of the book cause it's not really clear to me (oh, yeah they can navigate pretty well in dark skies, whoopeee!).

c) the writing were of the quality of Arthur C. Clark. It's not, but pretty readable anyway.

I did note that the basic math, on distances to the horizon, center of mass of earth/moon system, etc. seemed right. In fact, I noted no math/numerical errors, which is amazing in and of itself.

Very interesting; just ignore the preaching about the streetlights.

i just finished reading this book and my was i hooked? the plot is quite familiar and the suspence build-up is also not surprising but the master has done it again and this time he cleverly played with identity, truly a genius however the laST PAGE OF THE BOOK WAS TORN AND I COULD NOT READ THE CRUCIAL LAST PAGE SO IF ANY ONE CAN MAIL ME WHAT THE LAST PAGE IS ALL ABOUT I WILL REALLY APPRECIATE

I am a college student who ordered this book for a LAN class. I find this book to be helpful as it has many pictures and diagrams as to help you understand the processes of LANS in a much easier sense.

From the Editor's Preface: "_Understanding Contemporary American Literature_ has been planned as a series of guides or companions for students as well as good nonacademic readers."

Well said. _Understanding Raymond Carver_ is the kind of thin textbook you would expect to read in an undergraduate Figures of Literature class at a public liberal arts college. Saltzman only scratches the surface of literary criticism and interpretation regarding Carver, but adequately. For students: you will find decent quotes to support your research papers. For nonacademic readers: you will find brief critical analyses of your favorite stories.

Here's an illustrative section:
"Because Carver's locations are unexceptional, they are deceptively lulling, seeming immune to eventfulness; yet all the while, in familiar homes and neighborhoods, acts of brinkmanship regularly take place. What, for example, could be less precipitous than a waitress serving a customer? Yet in 'Fat' the event looms monumentally in her consciousness. Breathless and repetitive, the narrator anxiously tries to 'sell' her friend on the significance of the tale of her incredibly fat customer as if she had just been implicated in some vague parable. However, she cannot pin down the reason its having unsettled her so: 'Now that's part of it. I think that is really part of it.' 'I know now I was after something. But I don't know what.' 'Waiting for what? I'd like to know.' "

"Perhaps it is the surprising dignity and pleasantness of the fat man that is so remarkable -- one can easily surmise what sort of course [sic] treatment she is accustomed to -- and that causes her to defend him against the rude remarks of her co-workers. Perhaps his use of the royal 'we' to refer to himself, as though he needed to measure up verbally to his size, makes her realize how dwarfed and submissive she has been. Or perhaps the jokes about her being 'sweet' on him lead her to evaluate her relationship with Rudy, who is similarly incapable of appreciating feelings she can hardly approximate. (During their lovemaking, she imagines herself to be so astonishingly fat that Rudy disappears within her bulk.) Her inarticulateness stakes out the limits of her growth of consciousness. Significantly, although she believes her life will change -- the meeting with the mysterious fat man surely heralds it -- she characterizes herself as passive, waiting for a transformation. 'Fat' concludes with the narrator prepared for something different but at a loss as to what that 'something' could be or how she would go about initiating it. Insight extends no further than dissatisfaction."

Saltzman provides an overview of Carver's style and themes; has a chapter for each of the four major collections (_Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?_, _Furious Seasons_, _What We Talk About When We Talk About Love_, and _Cathedral_); and one for selected poems. His conclusion "feels" dated (the text was published in 1988), but is otherwise adequate.

Overall, this is a good text, worth having if you are a dedicated Carver reader.

Just how often do we get to look at the big, big picture and then journey on to smaller aspects of understanding that are not necessarily less important? Dr. Arthur Morse invokes more of those "starry night" feelings that come to us as we ponder our own situations and the store of knowledge from the world community which is adding to the mystery of our lives.

This is Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot, which is the same text as published by U.S. Games and Samuel Weiser, but with a couple of bonuses.

The first bonus are two sections written by Gertrude Moakley - an introduction which gives nice background material on the deck and a section describing the rules of the tarot game, which I couldnt find elsewhere.

The second bonus is that cards' pictures are not black and white outlines, as in U.S. Games' and Samuel Weiser's editions, but rather have shades of gray. This way the reader has a better impression of how the card looks without resorting to taking the relevant card out of the deck.

With the availability of the text of Waite's book [excluding Moakley's text, of course] and cards on the web...

As a student at the University of Wisconsin, I found this book to be very informative. It not only tells the history of the school, but offers insights that could not be found anywhere else. Moreover, the pictures in this text truly display the UW-Madison's overwhelming beauty. I enjoyed this book because in one sitting, you can learn the history of such a fine institution, coupled with beautiful photographs. This book exemplifies why all badgers have such pride for their alma matar!

I read this book during my urban planning project in school, and it's very useful for urban planners and architects! This book gave me all the informations I need in urban planning.

I have the condensed version for field work but to really get seriously involved in the identification of Pacific Northwest Plants, the five volume set is a must have. The abbreviations used in the condensed version are gone and there are much more detailed illustrations in the larger set. The books are not for amateurs and the dichotomous keys are very time consuming and somewhat difficult to master. The books currently are in need of an update, but this does not distract too much from their value in a Botanist's library. There have been a few species changes that are not included. Any serious student of Northwest plants should have all five.